My great nephew, not quite 2 years old, loves to dance; like
a modern day Martha Graham he just feels the music and the follows his body. He
does this crazy thing with his arm that just cracks me up. I have to tell you
that the songs he chooses to feel have me a bit distressed. Right now, his
current favorite is uptown funk (Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars) I love the song and his various dance moves
crack me up but yesterday I got to hear and see some of his favorite dance track
videos and I was really distressed…not so much by him dancing but that one day
he’s going to grow up enough to understand and maybe embrace the troubling
aspects of theses seemingly harmless videos.
The first video I saw was Beyonce….now there are some people
who call me a hater because I often decry Beyonce and her presence…but I have
to say that I won’t back down…that the people who hold her up as some type of
feminist icon have NO CLUE as to what feminism is about. I personally believe that
she has set feminism back with her deplorable over-sexualized performances. She
reminds me of the old Blaxsploitation films where the Black woman is nothing
more than a sex object….my question is are you really in a position of power
when you’re your own pimp? You’re still being used!
I saw 7/11 for the first time yesterday and I was appalled;
first, that someone would take the time to film this garbage and try to pass it
off as a song and video. Second, the “come and get it” style of burlesque bump
and grind dancing. (Her mother must be so proud…) Third, you can look at the
video and Beyonce’s eyes and see that there is obviously a substance involved
in such an illicit performance.
The song selection went from Beyonce to someone named
Jidenna and the song Classic Man. The song is catchy and the video is cool but
I was left taken aback with the liberal use of M.F. I know we had Prince’s Black album along with
Darlin’ Nikki and Sexy M.F., we had Too Short and several other controversial
artists for our times….but that doesn't mean we had to buy it and listen to it
like it was the thing to do. I know how to swear….I often refer to it as my
family’s second language but as a person who claims and clings to a higher
calling and purpose I cannot continue to use and accept the insanity of others.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not claiming perfection or being better than I
can and will often revert back to the familiar and common when I’m hard
pressed, what I’m talking about is maturation and evolution. I’m talking about
expanding the mind and the horizons of your life to seek better and to improve
on what our forefathers prepared for us.
Think about these things the next time you listen to some
crazy lyrics….think about this the next time you hear a brother call another
brother the N word. Think about it the
next time you hear a woman claim an alter-ego or embrace the word bitch.
How ya livin’?!!
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